This invention relates to an insect trap utilizing a flexible containment means having an attractant therein.
Present day awareness of the harmful effects of insecticides has generated increasing interest in the use of containment type insect traps. In this type of trap, an attractant is used to induce the insect to enter into a structure from which it is extremely difficult to leave. The insect normally exhausts itself in its attempts to leave the containment means and expires therein. Thus, a reduction in the insect population is obtained without the use of an insecticide. The combination of entry element and containment means are often discarded as a unit. As a result, the user is not exposed to the attractant or the insects contained therein. This type of trapping device is increasingly in favor due to the fact that the user does not have to contact any chemical agents from the time of initiation of use of the device through completion of service.
Several types of attractants are made in concentrate form and subsequently diluted by the addition of water. When the attractant is located in the containment means, the addition of the water creates not only the solution that the solution that emits an airborne attractant, but also provides the medium in which the insect is collected.. In order to function as an effective insect trap, the entry element utilized must allow for the ease of entry of the insect. In addition, the construction of the device advantageously makes it extremely difficult for the insect to discover an exit path. The containment means holding the attractant provides the source of the airborne attractant which draws insects from the surrounding region and induces them to enter the trap.
While the efficacy of all insect trap of this type is determined in part by the particular attractant used in the containment means, the ability of the trap to disseminate the attractant beyond the immediate environs of the trap is also important. This type of insect trap normally relies on the movement of the ambient air to cause air to enter into the containment means through a first passageway and displace air mixed with the attractant odor from the containment means. The use of large area passageways promotes the flow of air from the containment means and assists in the dissemination of attractant odor in the region surrounding the trap. However, the enlarging of the area of the passageway tends to reduce the efficacy of the insect trap since insects having entered the containment means are more likely to discover an escape route from the trap rather than to expend their energies in unsuccessful attempts to leave.
Most insects are light responsive and they tend to travel upwardly toward a light source in their attempt to find an escape route from the device. Thus, the entry element and the surrounding portion of the top of the trap are preferably formed of opaque material. Since the entry element appears as a darkened region, the insect is less likely to seek exit through this structure. In contrast, the containment means is light transmissive in order to induce the insect to remain in proximity to the wall of the containment means. Many insects including the common house fly, Musca Domestica, instinctively seek upward-leading paths and move toward a light source seeking all exit route.
A typical containment bag type insect trap is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,787 wherein a flexible bag is used in combination with a tripartite entry structure. The entry structure utilizes a inverted conical member attached to the base of a vertical pillar. The pillar is provided with three vertical septa which define the channels through which the insects enter and the airborne attractant material is disseminated. The conical member is provided with slots to promote airflow and contains a relatively narrow orifice at the bottom which serves as the entry passage for entering insects. The bag depends from a planar platform, generally rectangular in shape. The bag includes lateral extensions from opposing sides of the platform to form the top closure of the containment bag. The lateral extensions of the upper portion of the bag disclosed therein slope downwardly while extending outwardly to the vertical edge of the containment bag. As a result, the insect within the bag tends to migrate upwardly along this curved path under the influence of the light from above. The insect is led by the curved shoulder formed within the bag back to the general area through which it entered. This lighted path tends to reduce the efficacy of the structure as the insects, sensitive to light from above, are led to the region which escape is possible.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an entry structure which contains large area passageways containing a baffle for promoting airflow through the containment means to assist in the dissemination of airborne attractant. In addition, the invention provides a flexible containment bag which is in general conformance with the platform of the entry element and vertically depends therefrom. As a result, the present invention essentially eliminates the curved upward path present in existing containment bags thereby removing this guide path for insects to the entry element. By providing a vertically depending containment bag, the likelihood of an insect being drawn toward the entry passageway is reduced thereby enabling larger area passageways to be utilized without substantially reducing the efficacy of the trapping device.